Archives for January 2, 2019

‘“I think battling through the physical discomfort is one thing but then you kind of have to get yourself mentally prepared to face that discomfort and fight through it every day regardless,” Murphy said. “When they put on the tape, no one sees that. You have to do your job and be your 1 in 11 regardless of how you feel.”’

‘Castillo’s firing shouldn’t come as a shock. The Bills’ offensive line struggled in 2018, which was to be expected after losing veteran center Eric Wood and Pro Bowl guard Richie Incognito. Replacing those two proved supremely difficult. The combination of Ryan Groy and Russell Bodine at center could not match Wood’s steadiness, and the tandem of veteran Vlad Ducasse and rookie fifth-round draft pick Wyatt Teller didn’t make anyone forget about Incognito. Additionally, left tackle Dion Dawkins did not progress the way the Bills thought he would have.’

‘It was tempting to push this grade up to a C after Josh Allen’s five-touchdown performance Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, but that would be putting too much weight into one game. The Bills finished 31st in the NFL in total passing, so it’s impossible to give a passing grade. The entire body of work was not good for the Bills’ quarterbacks. As a group, they completed 270 of 496 passes (54.4 completion percentage) for 3,067 yards, 13 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Allen had a quarterback rating of 67.9, Nathan Peterman – remember him? – had a 30.7, Derek Anderson had a 56.0 and Matt Barkley had a 117.4 in one quality start against the New York Jets.’

‘If I were running the show, I would hit free agency hard in the search for offensive line replacements. Josh Allen is already in place, so the Bills need to surround him with linemen who can immediately start and raise the level of play way above where it was in 2018. Drafting someone means a learning curve, so fill two or three spots, if possible, in free agency.’

‘Castillo, 59, joined the Bills coaching staff in 2017 and also served as the team’s run game coordinator. Buffalo’s offensive line struggled this season after losing Richie Incognito and Eric Wood to retirement in the offseason. Without their two Pro Bowl linemen, Buffalo’s line failed to create running lanes and struggled in pass protection. Although Castillo cannot be faulted for the circumstances that led to Incognito and Wood retiring, Buffalo’s line never gelled or showed signs of improvement in 2018.’

‘The Bills had a tough time running the football in 2018, finishing 21st in the NFL in yards per-carry with 4.24. They did finish ninth overall in rushing yards per-game at 124.0, however, the bulk of those numbers came from quarterback Josh Allen, who led the team with 631 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per-carry.’

‘How the Bills spend their money in free agency will have an impact on the direction they take here at nine. At this spot, most draft prognosticators believe Buffalo can land one of the best offensive tackles in the class, a quality pass rusher or defensive tackle.’

‘“Little disappointed,” Hyde said. “I’m disappointed about that, about number two. Nineteen yards, 19 yards, that could’ve been, I don’t remember a pass off the top of my head, if I gave up more than 19 yards, but it’s just unfortunate. We definitely wanted to be number one. We take pride in that. Number two is good, but we wanted to finish number one.”’